Satyarthi, 60, has been a lifelong campaigner against the exploitation of children for financial gain. The announcement of a joint Indian and Pakistani winner came as the two countries were involved in deadly clashes along a stretch of disputed border. "The Nobel Committee regards it as an important point for a Hindu and a Muslim, an Indian and a Pakistani, to join in a common struggle for education and against extremism," Jagland added.

"I’m proud that I am the first Pakistani and I am honored that I am the first young woman or the first young person to be receive this award,” she said in a press conference from Britain, where she is still receiving treatment for her injuries. “I’m thankful to my father for not clipping my wings and for letting me to fly.”

She said she was in chemistry class when she learned of the award.

"I was totally sure that I hadn’t won it," she explained, saying that she was accepting the award on behalf of children everywhere. "When I found that I got the Nobel peace prize.. I decided that I would not leave my school I would continue to learn.”

In her hometown of Mingora, Ahmad Shah, principal of the Sarosh Academy, expressed deep pride over the win.

"I was across the street when she was shot. And I now I see this day. What a day," Shah said.

Still, some view the teen with suspicion in her conservative homeland, and Malala is unable to return there because of Taliban death threats. Mehar Bokhari, 30, one of Pakistan's leading female news anchors, said: "It's ironic, really. She is such an inspiration for the rest of the world, yet we fail to gain any inspiration from her as a people and a nation."

Before the announcement, the secretive Norwegian Nobel Committee revealed that it had received a record 278 nominations. Committee member Geir Lundestad had suggested the choice was more difficult this year, telling The Associated Press they had "seven meetings rather than five or six." The $1.1 million prize will be presented on Dec. 10, the anniversary of prize founder Alfred Nobel's death in 1896.

Malala Yousafzai speaks in Britain about winning the Nobel Peace Prize with Indian activist Kailash Satyarthi, who speaks with journalists at this home in New Delhi after the announcement.EPA; AFP - Getty Images